| The 10 Commandments Of Food & Wine Pairing | | | | the positive characteristics and flavors of a food or |
| Commandment 1 - MATCH QUALITY | | | | wine. Bitter, sweet, and savory flavors bring out the |
| When pairing wine and food, you must always take | | | | negative characteristics and flavors. Chefs understand |
| into account the quality of the wine and the quality | | | | this, and it explains why almost all sauces are either |
| of your dish. A complex dish made for special | | | | salty or sour. We season with salt and squeeze |
| occasions deserves a complex and special wine. On | | | | lemon on a vast assortment of different foods. |
| the other hand; simple, everyday dishes match best | | | | There is a reason that they serve salty cheeses at a |
| with simple and easy to drink wines. Putting a simple | | | | wine tasting - they are trying to sell wine! |
| wine with a special dish would be as unsuccessful as | | | | Use these changes in perception to your advantage. |
| squeezing ketchup on to a Filet Mignon. | | | | To make wines taste better, pair them with foods |
| You must always attempt to match the relative | | | | that have salty or sour flavors. To make foods |
| quality of your wine to the quality of your dish. If | | | | better, wines that are high in acidity and sour flavors |
| you are going all out on a meal, with the highest | | | | work best. |
| quality ingredients turned into a dish possessing | | | | Salty and Sour Flavors Bring Out the Positive |
| intensity and complexity; you owe it to yourself to | | | | Characteristics of Flavor |
| find a wine that also fits the bill. If your food comes | | | | Sweet, Bitter and Savory Flavors Bring out the |
| out of a box, well then, your wine probably should | | | | Negative Characteristics of Flavor |
| too. | | | | Commandment 6 - THINK LOCALLY |
| Special Occasion Dishes with Special Occasion Wines | | | | Wine has been around for thousands of years; and |
| Everyday Dishes with Everyday Wines | | | | throughout most of its history, people were not as |
| Commandment 2 - MATCH POWER & WEIGHT | | | | mobile as they are today. If you were born in |
| Imagine you are at the dinner table and served a dish | | | | Tuscany a hundred years ago; then most likely you |
| of delicately seasoned scallops; along with a | | | | would live your life in Tuscany, and die in Tuscany. |
| peppercorn encrusted, smoked venison chop. As you | | | | You lived your entire life eating the foods of |
| begin to eat, you take a bite of the scallop, a bite of | | | | Tuscany and drinking the wines of Tuscany. Common |
| the chop. A bite of the scallop, a bite of the chop... | | | | sense dictates that the wines and foods of a region |
| What will the outcome be? Very quickly, you will no | | | | pair together well. Just because we live in a time |
| longer taste the scallop. The same thing will happen if | | | | when you can jump on a computer, book a ticket to |
| you pair a wine to a dish with the same inequality in | | | | Paris, and be in Europe tomorrow; does not mean |
| power. If you pair a Cabernet Sauvignon with those | | | | that we should forget about the roots of wine and |
| scallops, all you would taste would be the power of | | | | food. If you are serving a regional dish, pair it with a |
| the wine. If you pair a soft Riesling with the smoked | | | | wine from that region. They were both made to go |
| venison chop, all you get is the smoky meat. | | | | together. |
| Always take the relative power and weight of a | | | | Pair Regional Wines with Regional Dishes |
| wine and dish into account when making a pairing. | | | | Commandment 7 - SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE |
| The whole point of food and wine pairing is to make | | | | How many times have you heard, "pair Pinot Noir |
| both the food and the wine taste better. If you | | | | with duck or Cabernet Sauvignon with lamb?" While |
| cannot taste one or the other, then you are | | | | for the most part, these can be good suggestions; a |
| defeating the purpose. | | | | good wine pairing takes into account more than just |
| Heavy Dishes with Heavy Wines, Robust Dishes with | | | | the meat or protein served in a dish. How many |
| Robust Wines | | | | different ways can duck be prepared? How many |
| Light Dishes with Light Wines, Delicate Dishes with | | | | recipes could you find for lamb? When pairing food |
| Delicate Wines | | | | and wine together, you need to see the big picture. |
| Commandment 3 - LOOK INTO THE MIRROR | | | | Pair the wine not only to the protein, but also the |
| One of the easiest ways to make a wine and food | | | | sauce, vegetables, and starch in a dish. By taking the |
| seem like they have a natural affinity for one another | | | | entire dish into account, you will be selecting a wine |
| is to use mirroring when you pair. Mirroring involves | | | | that will pair much more successfully with the whole |
| pairing two similar characteristics together to bring | | | | plate. |
| out that shared characteristic. If you have a peppery | | | | Take all Components of a Dish into Account (Meat, |
| dish and want to emphasize the spicy pepper flavors, | | | | Sauce, etc.) when Selecting a Wine |
| then pick a wine that has peppery characteristics like | | | | Commandment 8 - SUCCESS WITH SPICE |
| a Zinfandel. If you have an earthy, mushroom dish; | | | | It can be tricky to select a wine to go with a spicy |
| and want to bring out that essence, pick an earthy | | | | dish. This is because spiciness in a dish is not |
| wine like a Red Burgundy. It is no mistake that a rich, | | | | something we taste, it is something we feel. A |
| buttery California Chardonnay has a natural affinity | | | | jalapeno pepper is hot because it physically irritates |
| for lobster; which is also rich and buttery. | | | | the surface of the tongue. When pairing wines with |
| One of the easiest ways to guarantee mirroring in a | | | | spicy dishes, you always need to take this into |
| pairing is to use the wine you are serving as an | | | | account. Your best bet with spicy foods is pairing |
| ingredient in the food as well. It makes pairings seem | | | | them with a slightly sweet wine. The sweetness in |
| like they are meant to be together. | | | | the wine will tame the heat of the dish and bring out |
| Mirror Flavors and Characteristics that a Dish and a | | | | more of its flavor. |
| Wine Have in Common | | | | Wines to avoid with spicy dishes are those wines |
| Commandment 4 - FIGHT FAT | | | | that also irritate the surface of the tongue. Tannins |
| While fat is what gives a piece of meat a lot of its | | | | are a component of red wines which irritate the soft |
| flavor, it gets in the way of flavor when eating. | | | | tissues in the mouth causing a sense of "dryness" on |
| Practically every dish has a certain amount of fat in | | | | the palate. By adding this irritation to the irritation |
| it, and when pairing wine, you should always take | | | | caused by spicy foods, it will actually make the food |
| that fat into consideration. There are two ways to | | | | hotter and the wine more tannic. Stay away from |
| neutralize fat in a dish. Use a wine that has a high | | | | the atomic hot wings and a glass of Cabernet |
| tannin content, a high acid content, or both. | | | | Sauvignon! |
| Lighter dishes with high levels of fat such as salmon, | | | | Spicy Foods Pair Best with Slightly Sweet Wines |
| poultry, cream sauces, and pork; are best paired with | | | | Spicy Foods are a Bad Match for High Tannin Wines |
| wines high in acidity. Think Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc | | | | Commandment 9 - THE SWEET LIFE |
| and Pinot Noir. The acid in these wines will act like a | | | | Thinking back to our earlier conversation about |
| knife that cuts through the fattiness in a dish, | | | | toothpaste and orange juice, you need to be careful |
| revealing more of its flavor. At the same time, the | | | | when pairing wines with desserts. The simple rule of |
| fat in the dish neutralizes much of the acidity in the | | | | thumb is to always make sure that the wine you are |
| wine, "dulling" the knife and making the wine less tart. | | | | serving with a dessert should always be sweeter |
| For heavier dishes with high levels of fat, we need | | | | than the dessert itself. Most sweet wines have a |
| heavier wines; and typically, the heavier the wine, the | | | | very intense level of acidity to them to balance out |
| lower the acidity. Therefore, we need a different | | | | their sweetness. If that sweetness is stripped away |
| way to contrast fat. These types of dishes are best | | | | from the wine, all that will show is that stark, raw |
| paired to wines high in tannins; such as Cabernet | | | | acidity. By ensuring that your dessert wine is sweeter |
| Sauvignon or Merlot. The tannins in the wine act like a | | | | than you dessert, the wine will retain its natural |
| brick wall that stands up to fat. As tannins settle on | | | | sweetness and complement, rather than turn into |
| the surface of the tongue, they physically block fat. | | | | battery acid. |
| While this is occurring, the fat also helps to lessen the | | | | Dessert Wines Should Always be Sweeter than the |
| presence of the tannins, so the wine will soften. | | | | Dessert they are Served With |
| Use Acid and Tannins to Contrast Fat in a Dish | | | | Commandment 10 - RULES WERE MADE TO BE |
| Commandment 5 - UNDERSTAND HOW FLAVORS | | | | BROKEN |
| WORK TOGETHER | | | | The best thing about pairing wine and food is that it |
| Our sense of taste is a very interesting thing, indeed. | | | | is always an interesting experiment in matching things |
| Flavors on the palate change the perceptions of | | | | together. Sometimes it works so well that you will |
| flavors that follow them in a dramatic fashion, and | | | | remember the match and speak of its greatness |
| can make or break a food and wine pairing. One | | | | forever. Other times, you end up with a decent |
| experience with the way flavors work together that | | | | match, but nothing special. Realize that there are no |
| everyone can understand is what happens when you | | | | perfect food and wine pairings out there. Everyone |
| brush your teeth and then make the mistake of | | | | tastes things differently, and not everyone likes the |
| drinking orange juice. Yuck! The sweetness of the | | | | same combinations. Have fun with pairing, be willing to |
| toothpaste actually changes the perception of how | | | | break any of the rules, and most importantly - drink |
| we taste the orange juice, effectively stripping it of | | | | what you like. The truth about pairing wine and food |
| any sweetness. By understanding how flavors work | | | | is that most wines go with most foods. In reality, it is |
| together, you can feel confidant choosing certain | | | | easy to match them together. Be willing to |
| wines for certain foods. | | | | experiment, try new things, and turn defeat into |
| In its simplest terms, salty and sour flavors bring out | | | | victory. |